According to the final report from INSEE, in December consumer prices rose by 0.1%, as expected, after declining by 0.2% in November. This increase is mainly due to the rebound in the prices of services (+0.6% after -0.3%), notably those of transport (+6.0% after -5.9%). The prices of manufactured products decreased (-0.3% after 0.0%), as did those of energy (-1.2% after -1.1%), notably those of petroleum products (-3.4% after -2.8%).
In annual terms, CPI rose by 3.7%, as expected, after rising by 3.5% in November. The stronger price increase was due to acceleration in the prices of energy (+5.7% after +3.1%) and of services (+3.1% after +2.8%), while those of manufactured products (+1.4% after +1.9%) and food (+7.2% after +7.7%) slowed down.
Meanwhile, the core CPI grew by 3.4% per annum, slowing down compared to November (3.6% per annum). Still, both the headline and core gauges remained well above the European Central Bank's target of 2%.
The data also showed that in December, the harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) - an indicator that allows to compare inflation in France with inflation in European countries - rose by 0.1% on a monthly basis and by 4.1% per annum. In November, HICP fell by 0.2% for the month and increased by 3.9% per annum.